While I was searching for a new soft-shell pant for ice climbing this season I came across the LaSportiva Castle Pant. While billed as a ski pant this lightweight soft-shell slim fitting tech pant is a great choice for waterfall ice climbing and lightweight mountaineering which is how I primarily tested it over the last two months. The fact that it can serve double duty as a light back-country ski tour pant is definitely a bonus.
La Sportiva Castle Pants Review
Let’s start with a look at the manufacturer description and specifications:
“The Castle Pant is a stylish and comfortable soft-shell ski pant made with technical, performance-focused features to give you everything you need to move confidently around the mountains.”
• 5 pockets <- manufacturer typo? Model has 4 pockets total, 2 front hand warmer pockets, one right rear pocket, and one right thigh pocket large enough for an iPhone 6s Plus
• Adjustable inner gaiter
• Reinforced bottom hem
• Front fly
• Reflective safety details
• Pre-shaped knees
• Suspender attachment
• Flat pocket construction
ITEM NUMBER: B74 SIZES: Men’s S – XL WEIGHT: 20.56 oz (583g) FABRIC: Main – Ectoshield™ (90% Nylon, 10% Spandex) • Bottom hem insert – Superfabric® • Inner gaiter – 100% Nylon FIT: Regular
Not a ton of info from the manufacturer so I’ll break into some real life impressions starting with the choice of fabric.
Materials
La Sportiva uses a proprietary “Ectoshield™” material which is a 90/10 Nylon/Spandex blend. In hand it feels like a durable unlined soft shell very similar to Schoeller™ products I have used before. It is noticeably stretchy and feels quite abrasion resistant. The waist belt has a soft micro fleece lining on the band. There’s an adjustable nylon inner gaiter along with a heavier re-enforced crampon patch on the inner leg and adjustable outer cuff.
La Sportiva Castle Pant ReviewZippered lower leg with adjustable cuff
This adjustable cuff is a nice feature as I can snap then tighter when wearing ice climbing boots or have a bit more room for my ski touring boots. Since I rarely wear gaiters while ice climbing the option to snug them up is quite nice!
It is highly likely there is a DWR treatment applied despite no mention of it on the manufacturer’s website. I climbed in them through very drippy conditions and they definitely resisted getting damp.
Fit
They fit great under my harness and are quite comfortable on the approach. As a 180 pound 5’9″ 34 inch waist I went with the USA Medium size (Euro L/50). I found the sizing to be perfect for me. Check the size chart if in doubt:
EU
S/46
M/48
L/50
XL/52
XXL/54
USA
XS
S
M
L
XL
TOTAL HEIGHT
5’6″ – 5’8″
5’8″ – 5’9″
5’9″ – 5’10”
5’11” – 6”0″
6’1″+
SLEEVE
31 – 32
32 – 33
33 – 34
43 – 35
35 – 36
INSEAM
31
32
32
33
33
NECK
14.5
15
16
17
18
CHEST
36
38
40
42
44
WAIST (CLIMBING/CASUAL PANTS)
30 – 31
32 – 33
33 – 34
34 – 35
36 – 37
WAIST (OUTERWEAR PANTS)
32
33 – 34
35 – 36
37 – 38
39 – 40
Performance
After a half dozen climbing days in these I’m thinking these may be my go-to ice pants this season. The 10% spandex material gives complete freedom of movement, and they feel like they can take a bit of climbing abuse from time to time. While they fit my body quite well there are both belt loops and suspender attachment points to facilitate every body shape.
Setting up some top-ropes at the North End of Cathedral while guiding
Summary
This is an excellent option for a dedicated ice climbing pant that can serve double duty as a lightweight back-country ski touring pant, something that many New England climbers, back-country skiers, and skimo folks might be looking for. Here’s a short vid of me rocking these pants a few days ago at Frankenstein in Crawford Notch:
If you’d like to pick up a pair you can find them on Backcountry.com here and Amazon here.
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
While I received this item from La Sportiva for the purposes of this review the opinions above are my own. Affiliate links above help support this blog.
This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to introduce four guests of Northeast Mountaineering to the joys of ice climbing. The North End of Cathedral is in great shape for early season climbing and we had a full day climbing on the North End Slab and the Pillars.
Yesterday I got out to Frankenstein for the first time this season and enjoyed an excellent condition Pegasus Rock Finish.
This is quickly shaping up to be one of the best ice climbing seasons in recent memory. If you’d like to book a lesson with me let me know, I still have some mid-week dates available.
This past Monday I headed up to the rockpile again with Virginia/Maryland based Max & Rachel. After gearing up at the Northeast Mountaineering bunkhouse we hit the trail at about 8:15. Following last weeks snow/rain/deep freeze trail conditions were quite nice on the lower Tuckerman Trail. The first “step” on Winter Lionhead had considerable water ice but full crampons and ice axe, and a little coaching saw us through it in quick time. Above this step cramponing was great all the way to the summit which we reached around 1:15pm in really low wind conditions. Definitely a great day on the mountain and I hope to see Max & Rachel back for another adventure this winter!
DCIM100GOPROGOPR0016.JPG
One more trip up “the rockpile” in my ArcTeryx Acux AR Mountaineering Boots
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
P.S. If you decide to book an adventure with Northeast Mountaineering use promo code “DavidNEM” to get a chance at winning a free guided day of your choosing!
Yesterday wrapped up my first winter guiding assignment of the season, a custom private three day mountaineering course for the NYC based couple Karen and Paul. This was a surprise birthday present for Paul and I was very honored to be a part of it. This adventurous couple had experience trekking in Denali National Park and in Nepal and their objectives were bringing them further and further into the back-country and into steeper terrain so they were eager to start building their skill sets. After a couple emails with Karen we settled on a 3 day program that would make the most of their time with me.
Day 1
We met at the cozy Northeast Mountaineering Bunkhouse in Glen, NH. We’ve added a ceiling mounted projector and pull down screen here to accommodate our upcoming avalanche course season and this was a perfect opportunity to give it a test run. Karen and Paul were interested in upping their navigation skills so we started our program with my Wilderness Navigation course, a 3-4 hour classroom session followed by an afternoon field session to re-enforce learned skills.
Day 1 afternoon hikeKaren reaching Square Ledge with Pinkham Notch Visitor Center below
Day 2-
A Washington attempt was on our bucket list so we picked the better of the two remaining days to work on our extreme cold weather skills. By extreme I mean the Higher Summits Forecast looked like this:
Some folks might ask why even bother heading up there with a forecast like this? The odds of making the summit are incredibly low. The way I justify it is this is the perfect opportunity to define what exactly “success” means in the mountains. For me, success is not reaching the summit, and it shouldn’t be for you either. Three things should define success in the mountains;
Did you have fun? Type 1 & type 2 are both quite acceptable on “successful” trips.
Did everyone return home uninjured?
Was everyone still friends?
If the answer to the above three questions is yes then you have had a successful climb regardless of where your “high-point” was. Pushing yourself a little, getting slightly outside your comfort zone, but turning around when it is prudent is the epitome of a successful trip in my opinion.
Sorry, got off on a tangent there, back to our day.
We left Pinkham Notch at 0815.
Paul & Karen ready to embark
We made our way up the Tuckerman Ravine trail until the 4th cut and moved over to the Sherburne Ski Trail due to bridge work that still had an official detour sending people up the Huntington Ravine Trail. While walking on the Sherb is not ideal, the Huntington detour is a bit more complicated and definitely more time consuming. The good news is the closure has been lifted as of yesterday, so we do not need to put any more post holes up the ski trail (which is looking GREAT for mid-December BTW).
Staying on the consolidated USFS snow rangers snowmobile tracks and leaving those nice powder stashes alone
While we were out of the wind ambient air temps were around -8 so I was rocking a light puffy over my soft-shell jacket for the majority of ascent to Hermit Lake.
Warm enoughUpdated Bulletin
After a bit of a re-fueling and adjusting break at Hermit Lake we moved over to the Summer Lions Head Trail.
Full on Puffy Conditions!Still smiling!
As we closed in on tree-line we started breaking trail across the avalanche prone slopes that were quite filled in. Hand-shear tests confirmed reactive slabs that were quite small in size.
The snowfields just below tree-line
The last section right before the summer trail turns north and joins the winter trail had the most reactive snow but the slope was only about 30 feet in size and the instabilities were close enough to the surface to observe. I took a minute to try to show this on video:
Thanks for the camera work Karen!
My prediction was timely as the USFS closed the summer trail today and the winter trail is now in use.
We rounded the corner to feel some of the 30-50mph gusts just above our heads. Combined with the air temps winch-chills were about -40 here. It was pretty clear we could turn back here, or suffer for another 200 yards and then turn back. We picked tree-line as a good place to turn back and I grabbed this pic of Karen before we started our descent.
Karen handles -40 windchills at tree-line
We reversed our trip all the way back to Pinkham and high-fived in the parking lot. Karen and Paul were excited to have experienced hiking and climbing in those types of conditions and I was pretty amped up to see our winter off to such a phenomenal start!
Day 3-
For our last day together with valley temps hovering around -6 we spent some time inside discussing glacier travel and rope work. Many knots & hitches were reviewed along with equipment choices before we headed out to the North End of Cathedral Ledge for a quick rappel and some climbing.
Karen goes over the edgePaul goes over the edgeKaren’s first swings with some solid footwork!Paul has been waiting for years to try this and he didn’t stop till he reached the top!
It may have been the coldest three days of the season but spending it with these two left me feeling pretty warm. What a sweet birthday present for the man in Karen’s life! I enjoyed every minute with these two and I’m really looking forward to hearing of their future adventures and occasionally being part of them.
For the last couple months I’ve been testing the Black Diamond First Light Hoody. From early season recon missions into Tuckerman Ravine searching for climbable November ice to blustery cliff top rigging work while creating an instructional video with Northeast Mountaineering I’ve cultivated some appreciation for the versatility of this “light puffy”. Lightly insulated hooded jackets like this are a great addition to almost any climber or skier’s kit. If you are looking for a full on winter belay jacket you can check out some other models I am reviewing here.
The Black Diamond First Light Hoody uses 60 gsm of PrimaLoft® Silver Insulation Active with a traditional tube style baffling. This is a high end insulation that resists “migration”; basically it stays put within its baffles reducing gaps in protection. PrimaLoft® also claims it is more wind resistant but less thermally efficient than the PrimaLoft® Gold Eco.
So this type of PrimaLoft insulation isn’t as close to high loft down in terms of heat retention per weight but feels quite warm for the weight of this piece. It also boosts excellent breath-ability and will still retain heat if you get soaked in a “not quite full winter” rain event.
The Patagonia Nano Puff and Black Diamond First Light Hoody, birds of a synthetic feather
Shell/Lining
The Black Diamond First Light Hoody uses Schoeller® stretch-woven nylon with NanoSphere® Technology (80 gsm, 93% nylon, 7% elastane). This is a highly breathable shell fabric which allows this jacket to stay on during high output effort in cold conditions (skinning with sub-zero ambient temps) without overheating. In hand the shell fabric feels like it will handle abrasion better than some others in this category. The nylon woven mesh liner adds a bit of weight to this piece (65 gsm, 100% nylon) but is super soft and feels great directly on skin.
Manufacturer specs state 510 grams, 18 oz. My home scale on my size large reads 568 grams, 20 oz. The jacket compresses easily enough into its internal chest pocket and only appears to be slightly larger in packing size than the Nano Puff (but about 50% heavier).
Black Diamond First Light Hoody vs. Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody pack-ability
A carabiner sewn loop allows you to clip this off to the back of your harness if you are leaving your pack on the ground and the top of the pitch looks a little bit more breezy than the base of the route.
Sizing/Fit
I found the sizing to be spot on. I went with a large which fits my 42 inch chest, 180lb build, with a little extra space for a soft-shell and base-layers but not too baggy to throw on over a t-shirt. The hood is sized to fit perfectly over your helmet.
Black Diamond First Light HoodyL
Summary
Yet another fantastic option in the growing lightweight hooded jacket category the Black Diamond First Light Hoody is an ideal “just in case” piece for edge season climbing and an obvious go-to choice for hard & fast winter objectives. If sharing leads on a multi-pitch ice climb I would still bring a full duty belay jacket like the models I am reviewing here. If you haven’t added a “light puffy” to your kit yet or the one you have needs replacing this should be on your radar.
If you think you’d like this jacket you can find other reviews and competitive pricing right here on Amazon. If you liked this review please leave a comment below and subscribe above!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
Disclaimer: Black Diamond provided this item for purposes of review. The opinions expressed above are my own. Affiliate links above help support this blog.
Saddlebagging your ropes for rappelling is a great way to prevent mini-epics and is also more polite than dropping your ropes on parties climbing below you. It works great on low angle terrain where your ropes won’t fall free and in vegetated areas where every bush and krummholz conspire to lengthen your descent time. Last week I went out with Northeast Mountaineering to create this instructional video on the technique. Enjoy, and please like, share, and/or comment below!
This Fall La Sportiva asked me if I would be interested in reviewing the La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX Mountaineering Boots in their new “Highlander” color from a hunter’s perspective. Since I have very limited experience hunting I enlisted my good friend Alec to help review a pair. Alec has been getting out almost every weekend since the hunting season started.
La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX Mountaineering Boot Review
Alex finding some signs of the buck he’s pursuing this season while the La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX Mountaineering Boots keep his feet warm & dry
How we tested:
The boots were tested pheasant hunting in high grass fields in early season, deer hunting from late October through late November with the season continuing until December 4th . For deer season, I have hunted in the White Mountains of NH and Colebrook, NH. We have yet to have had much snow in the lower elevations of the Whites yet, but there was snow in Colebrook and that was where I found the boots to be a little cold. In the White Mountains, I have been in rolling, rocky, steeper terrain. I have never felt like the terrain was too much or for the boot. The rubber of the sole maintained traction in all of the conditions that I found myself in. With two more weekend left in the season, I look forward to use them until the end.
La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX Mountaineering Boot Review
Durability
So far there have been no issues with durability. The boots show no sign of wear and tear. The Thermo-Tech Injection™ TPU lacing system seems to provide a nice protective layer over the fabric. The only reason that I have reserved a rating of 10 is because I am still interested to see how the PU eyelets hold up over time.
Weight
At only 26.2 ounces (size 45.5), this boot is very light. Manufacturer weight for a size 42 is only 24 ounces. The heaviest aspect of this boot is the sole, but the balance is very comfortable.
Comfort
La Sportiva as a brand tends to run on the narrower side, but these boots run wider. As someone with a wider forefoot, having this extra width makes a big difference for my comfort. I have been wearing the boots with the tongue inserts in, but with it getting colder will be taking them out to allow for thicker socks. This boot is designed for a narrow to medium with foot, but the removable tongue allows for different volumes. The flex allows for great comfort while walking.
Features
The removable tongue is a great feature. The polymer shrouding over the upper makes for great durability. The stiff sole makes for great traction in varying terrain. Unlike some hiking boots, the laces are a perfect length so they do not drag or get caught on underbrush.
The Good
Light weight, soft upper, nice flexion in the ankle, stiff sole with nice rocker, highly waterproof, the tongue design (materials and removable insert).
The Bad
A little light on insulation, a little low in the upper, a little narrow if you have a really wide foot.
The Verdict
I am really enjoying this product especially for tracking, stalking and scouting. The rocker of the sole really makes up for how stiff it is in terms of moving quietly. With sitting for long periods of time, it is really nice to have the ability to flex my ankles to keep my feet from falling asleep. I have found with other boots that this has been a problem when taking a stand for a couple of hours. The ability to take out the tongue insert has been great for being able to vary the weight of socks that I’m wearing depending on conditions. The boot is fantastic for early to mid season hunting. The one place that it has fallen a little short is the lack of insulation. Sitting for three hours on a snowy day, my feet did get a bit cold. Once I got moving, everything warmed right up, but I am interested to continue to experiment with different sock combinations and how tight the boot is as the season goes on.
Overall, I am very happy with this boot and would highly recommend it especially if you are looking for something to lead you up to the part of the season where a heavier insulated boot is needed. -Alec F.
So there you have it! Sounds like a high end hunting boot to me and I might need to invest in a whole new hobby. If you want to pick a pair up you’ll probably find the best price on Amazon here. Thank you Alec for getting some feedback on these for La Sportiva and my readers!
See you in the mountains!
-Northeast Alpine Start
Disclaimer: La Sportiva supplied Northeast Alpine Start with these boots for the purpose of review but that has in no way effected the opinion of our guest reviewer. Affiliate links in this post help support this website.
A couple weeks ago I attended the sixth annual Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop and wrote a brief summary of the event with a few photos. Here, with permission, is a special sneak preview of the more detailed report my friend and colleague Jonathan Shefftz has written for The Avalanche Review before it goes to print! Enjoy!
The sixth annual Eastern Snow & Avalanche Workshop (“ESAW”) on November 5 attracted approximately 150 attendees at Fryeburg Academy, just across the state border from New Hampshire’s Mount Washington in the White Mountains’ Presidential Range.
This year’s ESAW was as always a collaborative effort. The organizing partners included the Snow Rangers of the USFS Mount Washington Avalanche Center (“MWAC”) and the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol (“MWVSP”). ESAW once again relied on a grant from our lead sponsor the American Avalanche Association (“AAA”), to be led here soon by Eastern Representative-elect Mark Renson, with your faithful correspondent as AAA Member Representative. Additional support came from our headline industry sponsor Outdoor Research. Registration fee proceeds over and above hosting costs benefitted the White Mountain Avalanche Education Fund, which provides avalanche education to youth of the Northeast.
ESAW kicked off the prior Friday evening with a social event hosted by the Friends of MWAC and fueled by Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing at the International Mountain Equipment shop and guide service. Then Saturday morning the avalanche presentations started up at Fryeburg Academy.
Chris Joosen, MWAC former Lead Snow Ranger (only the third since its 1951 formation) and outgoing AAA Eastern Representative, flew back East from his new Oregon home to serve yet again as our MC. Also flying out East was our first presenter, Simon Trautman of the National Avalanche Center (“NAC”), who introduced us to “Avalanche Danger Scales and How Forecasters Use Them” including data to compare/contrast ratings distributions across the forecast centers of different nations.
We then retreated well below treeline as Tyler Ray of the newly formed Granite Backcountry Alliance (i.e., for the “Granite State” of New Hampshire) joined MWAC Snow Ranger Helon Hoffer for “Backcountry Skiing on Public Lands: The Creation of Legitimate and Sustainable Glades.” Although New England backcountry skiing guidebooks reference only official ski trails (many cut by the famed Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression) plus the avalanche terrain at and above treeline, much of the backcountry skiing here actually takes place on the “down low”: glades illicitly cut on public lands for “forest fire prevention” and other in-the-know euphemisms. This was brought into the open in 2007 when two would-be Vermont backcountry skiers were criminally charged with felony-level violations for chainsawing a prominent line (aka “Jailhouse Chute”). But recent collaboration in Vermont with the USFS between non-profit groups has created glades that are both nicely skiable and legitimately accessible. The increasing availability of such terrain can offer a safe alternative to skiing at and above treeline when avalanche danger is elevated. And fortuitously for the Granite Backcountry Alliance, the off-season position for Snow Ranger Hoffer is the USFS Trails Manager for much of the Presidentials Range.
Next, AAA’s Executive Director Jaime Musnicki returned to her native New England to make good on her plan to attend as many regional SAWs as possible, and also to present on “Personal Reflections: Making Sense of Our Own Close Calls in Avalanche Terrain.” As if the incident she described in detail weren’t already harrowing enough, her partner had been her new boyfriend at the time, out on their first ski tour together. And not only did Jaime come out on top of the debris, four years later the two of them are still together.
On a similar note, Jon Miller, of Dogy Down Films, although unable to attend in person, presented to us on “Risk, Rewards, and the Balancing of Mountain Experiences and Goals” via a tailored video introduction and debriefing for us to sandwich his film “Season on the Brink.” His life-threatening fall this past spring in a Mount Washington couloir was extensively written up at the time, but the video footage he showed us — from both a partner and his own helmet cam — was especially terrifying. Just as memorable were the assessments from the party members of “What really sticks with me is that we just shouldn’t have been there” and “A series of little details and little errors that added up.” After a helicopter airlift, Jon spent a month in hospital care before regaining the ability to talk and walk normally.
Dallas Glass, our fourth Western presenter of the morning, here to lead the avalanche instructor training the following day for the American Avalanche Institute for Research and Education (“AIARE”), presented on “Blue Skies, Powder Days, and Las Vegas: Minimizing the Role of Luck in Avalanche Terrain.” For ESAW regulars over the years, Dallas’s presentation was the perfect follow-up to the 2012 presentation to us by Blase Reardon (then of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, and now of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center). Back then, Blase had emphasized that the backcountry snowpack does not provide a consistent environment with regular feedback, but rather its feedback is inconsistent and often fatal. (Remember Bruce Tremper’s analogy of playing soccer in a mine field.) “Experts” are often just those who have gotten lucky over time, like many stock pickers who have beaten the market over a selected time period. This year, Dallas explained how debriefing your day is the feedback loop that completes the risk management process. Professional guides always hold a debriefing as part of their standard operating procedures. To help recreationalists aspire toward this goal, Dallas quoted an incentivizing line from his fellow Pacific Northwest guide Larry Goldie: “Why having a beer at the end of the day could save your life.” It (the debriefing, not necessarily the alcoholic content!) allows us to identify when we got lucky and thereby recalibrate, so that on future trips we aren’t relying on “luck” to stay safe. We have all gotten lucky in the mountains, but we need to recognize when that occurs so that we don’t need an incident to provide us feedback, and instead we can use “no event” days to learn from and grow as backcounty travelers.
After lunch, Jaime Musnicki explained the upcoming split between recreational versus professional tracks in U.S. avalanche training. Fortunately the details need not be reiterated here, since you the dear reader have of course already carefully read every single prior TAR article on this subject. (Right?) This fed into a panel discussion on avalanche education with Jaime Musnicki, Jeff Lane (previously a MWAC Snow Ranger for ten years), Simon Trautman, and Dallas Glass, moderated by MWAC Snow Ranger Frank Carus.
Thus far we had been getting off lightly on the technical side. To ratchet everything up several notches, as always we could rely on Dr. Sam Colbeck, retired from the U.S. Army’s Cold Region Research and Engineering Laboratory (in Hanover, NH) after three decades of groundbreaking cold lab and field research in snow crystal bonding and wet grain relationships. In his fifth year of ESAW presentations, this time Sam explained “Why Skis Slide on Snow.” The answer is not simply “because it’s fun” since that’s why we use skis to slide on snow, as opposed to why they are actually able to slide so well.
And those skis slide especially well on very steep terrain with lots of blown-in snow, which was the focus of the presentation by Frank Carus on “Forecasting Avalanche Danger in Inherently Dangerous Terrain” regarding the couloirs in the at-treeline glacial cirques on our Mount Washingon. Next, Simon Trautman presented on “What are we doing now?” at the NAC, following up on the presentation at the 2014 ESAW by the NAC’s Director Karl Birkeland.
And finally, Chris Joosen wrapped up with “Reflecting on a Life with Avalanches” incorporating his 26 years working on Mount Washington. His conclusion was followed by a standing ovation from all attendees. And from all us who have depended for so many years on Chris’s work and his direction of the MWAC Snow Rangers, thank you!
We concluded with our annual expo, including rep displays for AAA, AIARE, Backcountry Access, Black Diamond / Pieps, Catamount Trail Association, Bryce & Ronnie Athlete Safety & Security (“BRASS”) Foundation, DPS Skis, Friends of MWAC, Granite Backcountry Alliance, La Sportiva, Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation, Mammut / Barryvox, MWVSP, Mount Washington Weather Observatory, Petzl & Adventure Medical, Salomon, Northeast Mountaineering guides, Ortovox / Deuter, and Outdoor Research. Throughout the day we had raffled off and auctioned donations from these sponsors plus ARVA, Dynafit, Hagan, MSR, Pomoca, Ski the East, and Toko.
Jonathan Shefftz patrols at Northfield Mountain and Mount Greylock in Western Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and daughter (who notched her first-ever October ski outing this season). He is an AIARE-qualified instructor, NSP avalanche instructor, and AAA governing board member. When he is not searching out elusive freshies in Southern New England or “coaching” his daughter’s skiing (i.e., picking her up off the snow), he works as a financial economics consultant and has been qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts. He can be reached at JShefftz@post.harvard.edu or just look for the lycra-clad skinner training for his NE Rando Race Series.
A couple months ago I got my hands on the iconic Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody and I’ve come to discover why I often see climbers milling about both at the cliffs and at the local coffee shop in this well designed piece. The non-hooded version of this jacket won the Editors Choice Classic Award from Climbing Magazine. I prefer hoods on almost all my outdoor clothing so I was happy to review the hooded version. This jacket falls into the “light puffy” category. If you are looking for a full on winter belay jacket you can check out some “full puffy” models I am reviewing here.
Patagonia Men’s Nano Puff® Hoody- photo from Patagonia.com
So let’s break down what makes this piece an excellent addition to your outdoor wardrobe!
Insulation
The Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody uses super light and compressible 60-g PrimaLoft® Gold ECO Insulation. “Gold” Primaloft is the highest level of synthetic insulation and of course being the environmentally conscious company Patagonia is known for they went with the ECO version of Gold which is 55% post-consumer recycled content. So you can feel warm and fuzzy while feeling warm and… ok that’s a bit too cheesy.
The “brick quilting” pattern is superior to other less expensive baffling methods and keeps the insulation in place preventing cold spots.
Shell/Lining
The Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody uses 1.4-oz 22-denier 100% recycled polyester with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish. Well what does that mean? 1.4-oz 22-denier feels like silk!
Brick Quilting Pattern = no cold spots
This isn’t a cheap nylon taffeta but a very abrasion resistant and pack-able material. It is quite comfortable over bare skin which is good since I broke this out repeated this Fall to wear directly over a t-shirt.
Weight/Compress-ability
12.8 oz. / 362 grams. Ultralight weight and super compressible, this is undoubtedly where the jacket go its namesake. Nano in this sense means extremely small. The Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody easily stuffs into its own internal chest pocket which measures about 8 x 7 x 4 inches.
A lot of warmth in a small little package
A carabiner sewn loop allows you to clip this off to the back of your harness if you are leaving your pack on the ground and the top of the pitch looks a little bit more breezy than the base of the route.
Sizing/Fit
I found the sizing to be spot on. I went with a large which fits my 42 inch chest with a little extra space for a soft-shell and base-layers but not too baggy to throw on over a t-shirt. The hood is sized to fit under your helmet but I found it would fit over as well, but a bit snug.
A blustery day rock climbing this Fall near Gorham, NH
Probably more comfortable, and warmer, to wear this hood under your helmet unlike traditional belay jackets with over-sized hoods.
Features
Rounding out some of the features I haven’t mentioned yet:
Center-front zipper has wicking interior storm flap and zipper garage at chin for next-to-skin comfort
Two zippered handwarmer pockets have cleanly finished zipper garages
Under-the-helmet hood construction is light and simple
Drawcord-adjustable drop-tail hem seals in warmth
Summary
This is a super versatile layer that can serve many purposes.
It’s the perfect balance of warmth, weight, and pack-ability for climbing on the edge seasons.
Fall rock climbing is the best rock climbing in the Northeast and this jacket is ideal as your insulating layer all on its own. The DWR finish and warm-when-wet insulation adds protection should you leave the rain shell at home and get surprised by a later afternoon shower. After the leaves have fallen and the ice is starting to grow this becomes an excellent mid-layer, taking the place of heavier and less compress-able 200 weight fleece jackets. With quality long underwear, a soft shell, Patagonia Nano Puff® Hoody, and a hard-shell you have an adjustable system that can handle almost any winter conditions. I’ll still carry a heavier full on belay jacket when swapping leads ice climbing but for fast solo missions this is a perfect companion!
If you think you’d like this jacket you can find it at Backcountry. If you liked this review please leave a comment below and subscribe above!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
Disclaimer: Patagonia provided this item for purposes of review. The opinions expressed above are my own. Affiliate links above help support this blog.
This winter I’ve acquired a number of high end synthetic insulated belay jackets to review. Getting field time to fully test all five of these models will take a little time so I decided to post a first look comparison of these industry leading models so those shopping for a new belay jacket for this season will have some info to look at before the ice climbing season really gets underway. Below I will share some technical comparisons within the various models and some impressions of each. Full reviews of each model will be posting throughout the season and I will back-link here as they publish.
First let’s define the category here. The common definition of “belay jacket” should look something like:
belay jack·et
bee-lay ˈjakət/
noun
1.
an outer garment extending to the hips with sleeves and a fastening down the front. An insulated hood and dimensions to fit over all other layers make a belay jacket stand apart from regular jackets. Also known as a “Puffy”.
I am going to limit this comparison to synthetic insulated options… apples to apples so to speak.
We will compare insulation, shell material, weight, fit, and features of each piece specifically trying to pull out how they differ from each other. Keep in mind this is not intended to be a full review of any of these jackets as that will need to wait until each has been sufficiently field tested. Here we go!
The LaSportiva Latok 2.0 uses Primaloft ECO Silver insulation. LaSportiva states they use “Body-mapped construction of 3 different weights of Primaloft used for thermal regulation”. I reached out to LaSportiva for more details and discovered they use 200 grams in the body, upper sleeves and shoulders have 133 grams, and lower sleeves have 80 grams.
Shell
10-Denier Ripstop (100% Nylon); Repeloff Nano Super DWR; Upper Body, Shoulders, and Sleeves: X2Weave-BR (85% Nylon, 15% Spandex); Repeloff Nano Super DWR
Weight/Compressability
29.3 oz. / 831 grams. This is the 2nd to heaviest model in the line up. It doesn’t feel very “crushable” for packing, and I’m assuming that may be due to the more cost effective Primaloft ECO insulation and regular (heavier) YKK zippers used throughout.
Fit
This model has the most snug fit of all the models I am testing. It’s a bit tight in the shoulders and the hood is just big enough to fit comfortably over my helmet.
Features
The jacket is black, not my first choice in belay jacket color. Bright colors have a physcological effect when waiting out a storm or your partner takes a decade to lead the next pitch while you slowly turn into a popsicle. It also has a microfleece lined adjustable hood that fits over my helmet, albeit a bit snug. Rounding out the feature list: 2 Front Hand Warmer Pockets with Invisible Zippers, 2 Napolean Chest Pockets with YKK Zippers, 1 Inner Binded Phone Pocket with Headphone Access Port (fits iPhone 6 but not 6 Plus), 2 Large Inner Mesh Pockets, Adjustable drawcord at hem
The Big Agnes Dunkley Hooded Belay Jacket uses 120g of Pinneco Core™ fill in the body and 80g in the sleeves. This “feels” warmer and puffier than the Primaloft ECO insulation used in the previous jacket and is 5 ounces lighter.
Shell
Big Agnes does not list much detail in relation to the shell fabric, just: “100% recycled polyester shell is wind-proof and water resistant”. I have reached out to Big Agnes for more info and will update this as soon as I hear back!
Weight/Compressability
24.5 oz. / 695 grams. The lightest option in our line up this piece easily stuffs into an included high quality 10 x 7 stuff-sack. Oddly the manufacturer’s website description references and interior chest pocket that doubles as a stuff sack but I believe this must be a web error as there is no interior chest pockets and the exterior chest pocket is far to small to function as a reversible stuff sack.
Fit
This model fits well over my typical load out. The adjustable hood is the perfect size for my helmeted head.
Features
Center front zipper includes interior no-draft flap and a zipper garage at chin
Features YKK Reverse coil zippers
Textured zipper pulls are easy to use with gloves
Adjustable drawcord at hem seals out wind
Two zippered hand-warmer pockets with zipper garages
Large interior mesh pockets for extra stash space
Exterior check pocket
Separate stuff sack included
120g Pinneco Core™ synthetic insulation in body, 80g in the sleeves
Insotect Tubic™ construction provides supreme loft and thermal efficiency
100% recycled polyester shell is wind-proof and water resistant
The Black Diamond Stance Belay Parka uses two layers of 80 gsm PrimaLoft® Silver Hi-Loft Insulation insulation (basically 160 gsm), a continuous filament insulation made with fibers of differing thicknesses. Primaloft calls this their loftiest insulation and it definitely feels up there with the best synthetic insulation currently available.
Shell
This piece uses Pertex® Classic 40d plain-weave with a DWR finish (65 gsm, 100% nylon). I’ve always found Pertex® to be a solid performer in the breathable water resistent category so I’m happy to see Black Diamond went with this for the shell material. Interestingly the liner also has a DWR finish to it which I suppose is one extra layer of protection, Pertex Microlight 20 d ripstop with DWR finish (40 gsm, 100% nylon)
Weight/Compressability
26 oz. / 730 grams. This is the 2nd lightest model in the line up and packs up to a similar size as the rest.
Fit
This model fits great over my typical load out and the hood is especially comfortable over my climbing helmet. It also feels an inch or two longer than the above models which feels like it will provide a little more heat retention.
Features
Adjustable, climbing-helmet-compatible hood
Lightweight stretch cuffs
Two-way front zipper
Insulated wind flap
Drawcord hem
Two zip hand pockets, zip chest pockets, two internal drop pockets and internal stretch media pocket (no internal port though and really small size)
The Outdoor Research Perch Belay Parka uses industry leading PrimaLoft® Gold 100% polyester insulation 200 g/m2 body, 160 g/m2 lower body and lower sleeves. This is the best performing synthetic insulation in the line up and Outdoor Research definitely stuffed this jacket with more of it than any of the other models being tested.
Shell
This piece uses Pertex® Endurance 2L, 100% nylon 20D melange body and Pertex® Microlight, 100% nylon 22D ripstop lining. This is the highest performing shell material in this line up (also used in next jacket).
Weight/Compressability
30.4 oz. / 860 grams. This is the heaviest model in the line up but is also most likely the warmest of the bunch. It also has a somewhat innovative internal stuff sack design I’ve never seen before. Basically a Velcro “hidden pocket” in the lower back inverts into a stuff sack. Final stuffed size is probably 20-30% larger than others in this line-up with the obvious trade off being more warmth.
Fit
This model fits great over my typical load out and the hood is especially comfortable over my climbing helmet. It also feels an inch or two longer than the first two models which feels like it will provide a little more heat retention.
*Disclaimer, when I asked Patagonia for a belay jacket for review they sent me the amazing down insulated Fitz Roy. Comparing down to synthetic belay jackets is like comparing apples to oranges when it comes to cost, weight, and compressability, so I am including the specs on the DAS even though I do not have one to fully review (yet)… the DAS should certainly be represented in this line up!
Insulation
The Patagonia DAS Parka uses 120-g PrimaLoft® Silver Insulation Hi-Loft and then adds a layer of 60-g PrimaLoft® Gold Insulation Eco in the chest, abdomen and back to offer maximum thermal efficiency and water repellency.
Shell
Like the Outdoor Research Perch Belay Jacket this one uses the lightweight, nylon ripstop Pertex® Endurance shell with PU coating. It is durable, water-resistant, windproof and treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish.
Weight/Compressability
23.6 oz. / 669 grams. This is the lightest model in the line up and hardest for me to fairly compare since I have not sourced one yet. Based on what I have researched I’ll say for the weight this one might be the warmest non-down belay jacket out there. However it saves weight by using a little less insulation. When compared side by side with the Outdoor Research Perch Belay jacket the numbers look like this:
Patagonia DAS vs Outdoor Research Perch
180gr/120gr vs 200gr/160gr
Mix of Primaloft Gold & Silver vs 100% Primaloft Gold
Fit
This model fits great over my typical load out and the hood is especially comfortable over my climbing helmet. It also feels an inch or two longer than the first two models which feels like it will provide a little more heat retention.
Features
Helmet-compatible hood with visor and single-pull drawcord to adjust overall volume and peripheral vision
Full-length 2-way zipper with internal, insulated wind flap and fold-over zipper garage for next-to-skin comfort
Pockets: two zippered, insulated handwarmers; two large interior mesh drop-ins; one exterior zippered chest
Elasticized cuffs and discreet drawcord at drop hem seal in warmth
Stuffsack included
Summary
These are all really nice offerings in the ever growing field of belay jackets. I look forward to getting some field time in each of them to pull out the minutia that sometimes helps one product edge out another. If you’d like to look for other consumer opinions on them or try one out yourself you can purchase directly off Amazon at these links, and doing so helps support this blog:
I hope this info helps you select the right belay jacket for the upcoming winter! If I missed your favorite model or you have any questions or comments please let me know below!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
Disclaimer: All of the products listed above were provided at no cost for purposes of review. All opinions stated are my own. Affiliate links above help support this blog.
